Thomas Jefferson was an American Founding Father, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and the third President of the United States. He was a spokesman for democracy and the rights of man with worldwide influence.

John Wanamaker was a United States merchant, religious leader, civic and political figure, considered by some to be the father of modern advertising and a "pioneer in marketing." Wanamaker was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Bob Hope, born Leslie Townes Hope, was an English-born American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer, dancer, author, and athlete who appeared on Broadway, in vaudeville, movies, television, and on the radio.

The path to a successful art career can be a twisting one, but one commonly traveled route is the artist residency. There are hundreds of residencies out there, ranging from highly prestigious programs that are invitation-only — to more open, or even experimental, retreats.

Among these, who knew that the National Park Service has 42 existing artist-in-residence programs spread throughout the country, ranging from month-long live/work experiences at Weir Farm National Historic Site in Wilton, Connecticut to the former Japanese internment camps of Manzanar National Historic Site in Independence, California! The NPS has three models of A-I-R programs: "Volunteers-in-Parks" requires artists to volunteer by presenting a program or demonstration for the public; "Partnerships" require a non-for-profit and the park combine to provide the resources for the residency; and the "Paid Staff" option involves hiring artists as seasonal employees to create public works or programming.

Artists have had a long relationship with this country's national parks and have influenced their development. The Crater Lake Waltz, photography of Peter Britt, traditional art and dance of the Tribal communities, and hand-tinted photographs of Fred Kiser are but a few examples of ways that artists have reached a special place in the hearts of visitors to Crater Lake National Park.

The program provides an opportunity for two eligible artists to spend up to two weeks of the fall, and another two artists for up to two weeks in the winter, at Crater Lake National Park to pursue their particular art form while being surrounded by the awe-inspiring landscape of the park.

Writers, sculptors, photographers, painters, dancers, cinematographers, musicians, composers, and other visual and performing artists are invited to apply for this opportunity to draw upon the multifaceted qualities of the park for inspiration.

All of these artists translate the national park's purpose, as a place of pleasure and preservation, into creations that bring others enjoyment and a deeper understanding of the parks.

The program is held both in the winter and the fall and provides an opportunity for two eligible artists to spend up to two weeks at Crater Lake National Park to pursue their particular art form. The Crater Lake Science & Learning Center is also planning a public art show to feature the work of the Artists-in-Residence.

Virginia has 27 karst counties in the western part of the state in the Valley and Ridge region:

What Exactly is Karst?Karst is a landscape formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks including limestone, dolomite and gypsum. It is characterized by sinkholes, caves, and underground drainage systems (Fig. 1). Nearly all surface karst features are formed by internal drainage, subsidence, and collapse triggered by the development of underlying caves (Palmer, 1991). Rainwater becomes acidic as it comes in contact with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the soil. As it drains into fractures in the rock, the water begins to dissolve away the rock creating a network of passages. Over time, water flowing through the network continues to erode and enlarge the passages; this allows the plumbing system to transport increasingly larger amounts of water (Gunn, 2004). This process of dissolution leads to the development of the caves, sinkholes, springs, and sinking streams typical of a karst landscape.

Karst - landscapes provide and support habitat for rare animal and plant species, including bats, cave-adapted invertebrates, plants that grow on the surface and at springs and seeps, and fish and mussels living in streams and rivers fed by karst springs.

Karst - landscapes supply water for many Virginians. Land use activities place these water supplies at risk.

DCR's Project Underground is a source of interdisciplinary instructional activities, and its staff conducts workshops and in-service training programs. These materials and workshops are designed for classroom teachers, cavern, park, museum, and nature center staff, or any youth-oriented group leaders.

The program - The purpose of Project Underground is to create and build awareness of and responsible attitudes toward karst and cave resources and their management needs. The project is an environmental education program designed to promote better understanding of caves and karstlands. It is a supplemental program for use by educators of kindergarten through high school age students. Participants in Project Underground activities will gain an understanding of how the underground environment is an important part of the total environment.

Workshops - Project Underground materials are available through workshops held in your area. During these workshops, you will participate in hands-on activities, learn more about caves and karst ecology, and expand your knowledge and teaching skills. You will also meet and share ideas, information and resources with other professionals.

Facilitator training - Project Underground is based on the Training the Trainer model. Interested educators are trained to be certified workshops facilitators. You receive more in-depth information on caves and karst and the community issues surrounding them.

The very cool thing about this Cam is that viewers can control the camera for 20 seconds.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was referred to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries James River "Shad Cam" at Bosher's Dam, which runs late March through early June. So, while it is currently "offline", mark your calendars to return:Over the past 35 years, populations of American shad, hickory shad, alewife, blueback herring, striped bass, and other anadromous fish species have steadily declined in Virginia. VDGIF, in collaboration with a number of other partners, has been working to bring back these fish, mostly by restoring access to historic spawning areas throughout coastal Virginia. In the James River, these species were known to spawn as far upstream as Eagle Rock until two sets of dams, in Lynchburg and Richmond, cut off over 400 miles of the river and tributaries. In 1999, a fishway was constructed at Bosher's Dam, providing fish with access to 137 miles of the James River and 168 miles of its tributaries for the first time in nearly 200 years. A camera at the fishway provides visitors a peek into this incredible journey as the fish return to spawn in the spring.

Monday, November 25, 2013

by Nancy Turnage, VRPS Central OfficeAn infographic (information graphic) is a representation of information in a graphic format designed to make the data easily understandable at a glance. People use infographics to quickly communicate a message, to simplify the presentation of large amounts of data, to see data patterns and relationships, and to monitor changes in variables over time.Interested? A sampling of Parks-and-Recreation-centric infographics are below. Want to create your own? You might want to read this: 5 Tools for Creating Your Own Infographics.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Thanks to close to 400 individuals and business donors, the mortgage on the Virginia Recreation and Park Society headquarters office building is now paid-in-full!During the VRPS 59th Annual Conference in James City County on Monday, September 9, 2013, delegates rallied to raise the remaining $2,500.The Boards of both the Virginia Recreation and Park Society and the Foundation of the Virginia Recreation and Park Society are hosting an open house to celebrate!The Open House is scheduled for Thursday, November 21, 2013 from 1-3pm. All are welcome - please click HERE to confirm attendance and enjoy light refreshments and plaque recognition.Thank you all for help in reachin VRPS reach this goal in six years!

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Q: What happens when a lobster claw falls off?A: It regenerates.Q: What happens when a lobster claw falls off and falls on the foot of an unsuspecting tourist who happens to be in your traveling party?A: They scream and everybody else laughs until they're crying.Q: What happens when you put 30 Virginia Shenandoans (or Shenandoans-by-proxy), comprised of shopaholics and lobster-rookies, on a "mechanically challenged" tour bus and head to Maine for 7 days and 6 nights?A: Lots of laughing, camaraderie, memory-making, and some pretty big VISA bills ....

We also had driving tours of Portland, South Portland, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Acadia National Park, and Bar Harbor, and a drive-by of the Bush family estate (Walker Estate).

The owner/operator
of the Great Maine Lumberjack Show is Lumberjill Tina, one of the participants
of CBS’ “Survivor: Panama.” She was hysterically funny and told
some really good stories. She recently filmed some episodes in Alaska for
a new reality show, but she couldn’t disclose any details. She has been
invited back several times to participate as a Survivor veteran, but she hasn’t
gone yet.

Everyone marveled at the beauty of Acadia National Park; while there was just spots of leaf color there, we did see good spots of color on the way to Maine. Acadia National Park was beautiful; because you can drive and park at the pinnacle - Cadillac Mountain, we were able to offer a longer free-time session in Bar Harbor for lunch and shopping. That day, we had purchased boxed lunches for everyone; a few stayed at the park to hike and to eat lunch while we took the rest of the group into town where they could eat on the main town green overlooking the water and the bay/boats. After lunch, many shopped and shopped and shopped while others took photos or just relaxed on the green. It was a lovely, warm afternoon.

Many of the ladies (and one or two men) swam every night after dinner; we utilized the pools and saunas each night and told fabulous stories about family, friends, and other trips. We also talked over the day and discussed what everyone liked and what they would like to do the next day.

Lobster highlights:

We enjoyed two lobster dinners on the trip - one in South Portland and one in Bar Harbor. Many from our group had lobster before but never had to crack and open them. Waitstaff were on-hand to assist “newbies” with pickin’ lobster (much like pickin’ crabs).

The educational session at the Bar Harbor Oceanarium and Lobster Hatchery was absolutely hysterical. The “old salt” who gave the talk was a lobsterwoman who had been on the water her whole life. The highlight is a live blue lobster (pretty awesome to see). As she was holding it out to the front row of the audience, one of its legs fell off (they regenerate) and on the foot of one of our participants. You should have heard the screaming, giggling, and snorting! I had tears I was laughing so hard. Everytime someone made a wise crack or asked a silly question, she threw a claw band (used to hold the claw closed) at them. We visited the hatchery afterwards and saw females loaded with eggs as well as lobsters in various growth stages - fascinating to see.

HOWEVER, I noted to
PML Tours that they should probably re-arrange that Oceanarium/Hatchery tour, because as soon as we left there, we went to a Lobsterbake and ATE the lobsters
we just learned about!

Bus highlights:

On the way up, our bus developed a “vibration” that caused most of the bus to shake and shimmy. Because we stayed overnight in Connecticut on the way up and arrived in Maine so early on our first day, we made an unplanned stop at L.L. Bean to drop the group while the bus headed off for some “garage time.” Two new tires cost just under $2,000! So, the additional time really pleased everyone as we had several shoppers on this trip!

On the last day as we started our return trip, we made 70 miles before the bus developed more issues, leaning very heavily to one side. We ended up sitting in a fast-food parking lot for 6 hours waiting for repairs. We chartered another bus to get us partially home that night while a third bus was driven from North Carolina for our morning departure. We had a lovely evening drive to Hartford for our night's stay after changing our itinerary (including our hotel and route home). The next morning, we loaded our replacement bus only to disembark 5 minutes later when it was discovered that it had a flat tire. We unloaded and waited an additional two hours for a tire change. After that, we re-loaded and headed home!

Because we changed routes, we were able to work in another unplanned stop at Cabela’s in Hamburg, PA; this was another shopping destination requested by the group because we had passed one on the way to Maine! At this stop, the group broke into three different groups: while some went shopping at Cabela’s, some ate at Cracker Barrel, and some went to a few of the fast-food joints.

We watched four movies and one stand-up comic routine on our DVD player, and this group laughed and laughed and laughed a whole lot during the trip.

To enjoy more of Pam's photos from the "Maine's Coast in Autumn" trip, visit the trip album at VRPS on Flickr.

Monday, November 4, 2013

The "Little Free Library" is an organization that, in a nutshell, is a collection of worldwide locations that offer anyone (ANYONE) the opportunity to take a book (or two) and bring a book to share. The books are housed, as you might guess, in "little houses" - of varied designs. The idea, among other things, is to solve that problem of, as the Winchester Star puts it:

There could be more that haven't made it to the map yet. In fact, Little Free Library believes only about one-fourth of the libraries are actually mapped.

Danville appears to be the most prevalent Little Free Library Virginia community, boasting 9. And, while most of the LFL's find their homes at private addresses, subdivisions, and schools, there are Virginia LFL's located at an art studio, a Kiwanis club, and even a Starbucks. Likewise, it appears that some Danville, Lexington, and Winchester parks are homes to LFL's.

It's neat - a collection of literary lovers have established their own library system and become part of a greater good. There is no need to be a nonprofit or affiliated with some sort of organization - anyone can do it. By the end of 2013, Little Free Library believes they will have over 15,000 LFL's in 55 countries. Interested? Visit their website to get started. Folks have shared library-box-construction plans, created a Facebook page, and offered instruction. Then share YOUR story with us!

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About Us

VRPS is a private, non-profit professional organization, founded in 1953 and incorporated in 1956. Its purpose is to unite all professionals, students, and interested lay persons engaged in the field of recreation, parks and other leisure services in the Commonwealth of Virginia, into one body. VRPS is an affiliate of the National Recreation and Park Association.